[2] After becoming disillusioned by what he viewed as a failure of some judges he practiced before to follow the law, read cases, and show some level of care about their work, Baird decided in 1989 to run for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1990.

[1] Baird ran an aggressive statewide campaign, and was elected to the court the same year that Ann Richards defeated Clayton W. Williams, Jr., for governor.

[1] After losing the 1998 General Election in a Republican landslide, Baird served as a visiting justice on the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Texas Courts of Appeals and as a judge on the criminal trial benches in Travis County.

[2] In 2005, Baird was approached by a group of Travis County attorneys encouraging him to run for the seat being vacated by Judge Jon Wisser.

[1] As a judge, Baird gained high marks from the press and the public for his efforts at working to rehabilitate non-violent offenders—a practice which sparked ire from the Travis County District Attorney's Office and former DA Ronnie Earle.

The hearings in Baird's court were held after a Lubbock County judge rejected previous similar petitions in August 2008.

In April 2009, Baird issued an exoneration order, noting, "to a 100 percent moral, factual and legal certainty" that Timothy Cole did not commit the rape.

[2] In June 2011, Baird told the Austin American-Statesman he was considering a run against Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg in the 2012 Democratic Primary.

On Tuesday, October 25, Baird and incumbent Rosemary Lehmberg made their first joint debate appearance at the Central Texas Democratic Forum.